


Show up

by candygirl0251



Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: M/M, kinda secret dating, ummmm kiss
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-14
Updated: 2019-03-14
Packaged: 2019-11-18 05:22:27
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,624
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18114131
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/candygirl0251/pseuds/candygirl0251
Summary: Ritsu wonders if anyone will notice if he slips his hand into Hokuto’s





	Show up

**Author's Note:**

> ( ・∇・) uuuuuuhhhhhhhh 
> 
> pls enjoy! sorry for any mistakes!

Ritsu wonders if anyone will notice if he slips his hand into Hokuto’s while they linger around backstage.

Probably, they’re used to seeing him cling to his precious Maa-kun, maybe it’s best to just stick to Mao’s side. Hokuto wanted to keep it a secret, just for a little bit until he felt comfortable enough. Ritsu wouldn’t deny him that.

Even so, he stares a bit too long at Hokuto’s unoccupied hand. Ritsu knows how nicely his hand fits in Hokuto’s. He feels something akin to longing envelop him as he rests his head on Mao’s shoulder and sulks.

They’re on in thirty seconds.

Ritsu takes a deep breath and remembers how Hokuto’s hand feels in his. Joint lives are fun, Ritsu will forget this longing feeling the moment they step on stage.

They meet eyes for only a moment, and Ritsu feels electricity in his fingertips. Hokuto smiles at him. Ritsu smiles back.

 

 

Maybe Ritsu is trying too hard to bump into Hokuto, but where’s the harm? The school isn’t even that big, so there’s no reason for them not to cross paths, even more so if Ritsu is kind of seeking him out.

Plus, it’s not really weird to want to see your boyfriend. Even if no one knows you’re dating.

Even if no one is supposed to know you’re dating.

That being said, when he does finally find Hokuto, there’s not much he can do besides look at him.

That won’t stop Ritsu from brushing their shoulders anytime they walk past each other in the halls, or from slipping little notes written on folded pieces of paper into the others hand when no one is looking.

He knows it’s okay, because Hokuto always hands him notes in reply.

Sometimes it makes Ritsu wish they were in the same class. He feels like a stupid teenager in a movie, passing notes when they could just as easily talk.

But they can’t talk, because they never talked before. People would know something was up.

So Ritsu writes to him, and Hokuto writes back.

 

 

One thing that doesn’t change is Ritsu falling asleep at school. 

One thing that does change is the locations he falls asleep at.

Sometimes he lingers just a little bit longer after club activities or practice ends, when the school becomes empty and silent, even when he feels like he might fall asleep any second, just to receive a text from Hokuto. It usually only says something along the lines of “I’m free.” But it’s enough for Ritsu to understand.

He finds himself in the theatre clubroom more often than naught. 

When Ritsu pushes open the clubroom door open, and finds Hokuto, alone, sitting cross legged on the couch with a book in his hand, he feels nothing but affection swell in his chest. 

It’s weird. He likes it.

Sometimes he just stands for a moment, and watches the way Hokuto’s usually firm expression softens into something more comfortable and relaxed when there’s no one else around. Other times, he loudly kicks the door closed behind him and sinks into the other boys arms with a whine of his name.

He likes lazing away on the beat up couch that sits in the clubroom, with his head in Hokuto’s lap as the other boy rakes his fingers through Ritsu’s hair. Sometimes he reads to Ritsu in his pretty voice, and Ritsu will drift away on his smooth words.

It’s always nice when it’s just them together. 

 

 

Just for fun, they teach each other some of their units choreography.

Ritsu likes the concentrated look on Hokuto’s face as he attempts to copy Ritsu’s movement. 

He likes when Hokuto meets his eyes in the mirror, and smiles at him, even when Ritsu’s tired and gross and sweaty. When he tells him this, Hokuto says it’s fine, because he’s the same.

Ritsu laughs at a stupid move in Trickstars choreography, and Hokuto hits him on the arm. 

He laughs too, though.

When they finally break, hours later, Ritsu’s bones feel like mush. His hair sticks to his head with sweat, and the room feels unbearably hot, but Hokuto kisses him anyways.

It’s more refreshing than any amount of water.

 

News spreads fast when Hidaka Hokuto shows up to school with a hicky on his neck.

Ritsu listens to his classmates gossip about it as he pretends to sleep on his desk. They laugh and guess as to who could have left it. It takes every ounce of self control not to cut in and tell them it was him that left that hicky on Hokuto’s neck, not some nameless faceless girl Hokuto’s been dating in secret, or some student at their school unbeknownst to them—

Huh, actually, that’s...

Ritsu pretends to sleep some more, blocks out their mindless chatter they’ll forget about in a couple days. Next time he won’t leave it somewhere so high on Hokuto’s neck, but it feels good to know that people know Hokuto’s taken, even if it’s not by him. Maybe they’ll know eventually.

 

 

On their two month anniversary, Hokuto takes Ritsu out. When Hokuto slips the note into his hand that asks him if he’d like to go out, Ritsu thinks of breaking the facade of normalcy they so carefully built up together and kissing him in the middle of the school hallway.

The sun is already setting, so Ritsu’s just now starting to feel energized. They don’t do much, just walk around the busy, brightly lit streets without worrying someone they know will see.

“Sorry, I’ve never planned a date before so I wasn’t sure how to go about it, but I wanted to spend time with you.”

Ritsu shakes his head. “It’s fine, just being with you isn’t so bad~” he teases. “But... I want to spend time with you, too.”

Ritsu likes spending time like this. They talk and laugh, revel in the shared comfort that comes with each other’s presence. Ritsu already considers the date a win when Hokuto takes him by the hand and squeezes it tight.

Ritsu squeezes back.

It’s warm, but Ritsu sticks himself to Hokuto’s side, and lets his head fall onto Hokuto’s shoulder. He smiles to himself when Hokuto leans into him, too.

Hokuto’s face illuminated by neon lights is something Ritsu would like to remember, so he snaps a photo on his phone when the other boy isn’t looking.

He makes it his home screen.

 

 

Hokuto gives him a single red rose towards the end of their date. 

“Hokkun, a red rose, you know what that means, right~? Are you confessing your undying love to me?” Ritsu teases.

Hokuto stammers, and looks away. “I’m aware of their meaning. When I saw them, it reminded me of your eyes, so I wanted to get one for you.”

That alone is enough for Ritsu to blush good and proper. 

 

 

Ritsu stays at Hokuto’s that night. It’s already past midnight once they get back. When they fall into Hokuto’s bed together, Ritsu wearing one of Hokuto’s t-shirts that smells so nicely of him, he thinks he’d like to stay right there forever. 

It’s silent, and time is frozen.

“Hokkun,” Ritsu breathes, pressing his face into the back of Hokuto’s neck. Hokuto sleepily mumbles back to him. 

“Do you wanna tell people we’re dating?”

Hokuto stays quiet for a moment. Ritsu almost thinks he’s fallen asleep, but when Hokuto turns in Ritsu’s hold to face him, he feels his heart speed up. So strange.

“I... I don’t know.” He answers.

Ritsu places a hand on Hokuto’s cheek. Hokuto places his hand over Ritsu’s. Both their hands are always cold, but when they touch, Ritsu feels an inexplicable warmth.

Hokuto continues. “I’d like to, I... I’m just...”

Neither of them are very good at saying how they feel, so Ritsu just scoots forwards until their foreheads are pressed together, and he closes his eyes. 

“Are you afraid what people will think? ‘Cause you know I’d kill anyone before I let them say something about us.” Ritsu states, and Hokuto laughs a little at that. Ritsu most definitely does not blush.

Even if it’s one of the best sounds he’s ever heard.

“No, so please don’t commit any crimes for me.” Hokuto breathes softly, evenly. Their noses brush.

“I just feel... uncertain. It’s hard to say, but I really like you, Sakuma, so...”

Ritsu finishes Hokuto’s sentence with a kiss. Pressing their lips together once, twice, three times, and Hokuto is kissing back.

Ritsu doesn’t have to say it for Hokuto to understand.

I like you, too.

They fall asleep entertwined together.

 

 

For a change of pace, they’re lying on a couch in the garden terrace, late one evening after school has ended.

Ritsu lies between Hokuto’s legs with his head on the other boys chest. He listens to Hokuto’s heartbeat as they doze off.

“Hey, Hokkun.”

Hokuto hums. “Yes, Sakuma?”

“We should get married.”

Hokuto shifts a bit, and Ritsu looks up at him.

“Aren’t we a bit young to get married?”

Ritsu shakes his head. “I’m a vampire, so I’ll always be this young and beautiful, duh.”

Hokuto nods. “Of course.”

“Mm, but since you’re not a vampire, you’ll grow old and wrinkly. I guess the only solution is to turn you into a vampire as well so that we can live together forever.” Ritsu smiles at him, and flashes his sharp teeth.

Ritsu feels Hokuto’s heartbeat speed up.

Hokuto considers this. “I’d prefer to stay human, if possible. But if there is simply no other way, then I will let you.”

Ritsu nods, and snuggles close into Hokuto’s chest. Hokuto wraps his arms around Ritsu, and presses his nose into his hair.

“That, and you have to start calling me Ritsu.”

Hokuto huffs a laugh into Ritsu’s hair. “You’re too spoiled.”

“I deserve to be spoiled though, right? Hokku~n, spoil me with your love.”

Hokuto sighs.

“Fine, Sa— ah, Ritsu.”

Ritsu likes how his name sounds on Hokuto’s tongue.

 

 

Ritsu forgets about his home screen one day. He lets Mao borrow his phone to call his sister after he left his own at school. Mao knows his password, and Ritsu knows Mao’s, so he just hands his phone over to Mao without thinking.

He realizes his mistake two seconds too late, when Mao gasps, and he covers his gaping mouth with one hand.

Ritsu feels regret creep up his throat, and he freezes.

“Oh my god? Ricchan...” Mao stares at the photo of Hokuto for at least 20 seconds before finally speaking. “Were you the one who gave Hokuto that hicky?”

Ritsu can’t help but laugh. “That’s what you’re going to ask first? Maa-kun, how bad~” 

Mao laughs too. Ritsu feels some of his anxiety dissipate.

“You know, I thought you’d been acting different, Hokuto too. I just didn’t think the two would have been related.” Mao laughs again, and scratches the back of his neck sheepishly.

“Why didn’t you tell me you two were a thing?”

Ritsu flops down where he sits on his bed. 

“Hokkun didn’t want to tell anyone.”

Mao whistles lowly, and scoots forwards to sit closer to Ritsu. “‘Hokkun’, huh? How long have you two been together?” Mao asks.

Ritsu thinks for a moment, glances at the rose that slowly wilts in its vase on his windowsill, and tells Mao most of what he wants to know about their relationship.

Between bombarding Ritsu with questions, Mao promises not to tell anyone, or to tell Hokuto he knows. Ritsu says he’ll tell Hokuto anyways, so it doesn’t matter how Mao acts. 

“I think you two are good together. Hokuto smiles a lot more lately, and you do too.”

It feels good to finally tell someone, really good, especially someone he’s close to.

He wants to let everyone know.

 

Hokuto takes it well, though he’s embarrassed to find out Ritsu’s kept a photo of him as his phone background for so long.

 

 

Today, Hokuto falls asleep in Ritsu’s arms, instead of the other way around.

Ritsu watches Hokuto’s sleeping face in the dim light of the theatre clubroom, and gently soothes his thumb over Hokuto’s cheek.

He’s been busy. Busy with school, busy with his idol work, busy with life. Busy with everything.

Ritsu feels his chest tighten when he thinks of how Hokuto still made time for him, even in the midst of his hectic life. He wants to repay Hokuto, so he lets him sleep in his arms.

He looks tired, more tired than Ritsu had ever seen him. 

Ritsu leans down and presses a kiss to the crown of Hokuto’s head, closing his eyes as he does. Ritsu feels drowsy, so he sleeps with Hokuto in his arms.

 

 

It turns out, they didn’t have to wait much longer to tell everyone, because Ritsu is needy for attention and Hokuto is weak to his boyfriend.

Hokuto was usually very against any displays of affection while at school unless he knew for sure they’d be entirely alone. As their relationship went on longer and longer, Ritsu liked to push that to its limit, see how much he could get Hokuto to kiss him when no one’s technically around, but still could be loitering outside of closed doors.

That’s how Ritsu ends up pressing Hokuto against his desk, and kissing him until they’re both gasping, out of breath. Hokuto’s face is painted with a nice flush, he’s as red as Ritsu’s eyes. It suits him perfectly. Right as he leans back in to claim Hokuto’s lips again, he’s interrupted by a scandalized gasp. 

When he whips his head around to look, Arashi and Mika are standing in the doorway. Mika looks embarrassed to have walked in on them, but Arashi looks like she’s about to burst with excitement.

Hokuto buries his face in his hands with a groan.

“Oops.” Is all Ritsu can say.

 

 

Being found out is a blessing in Ritsu’s eyes. Despite the teasing they now receive from their friends and classmates, he knows they don’t mind. They seem happy for them.

It’s great, really great. Because Ritsu can bother Hokuto whenever he wants now.

He likes being able cling to Hokuto’s side when they walk through the halls, and he likes when Hokuto meets him outside of his classroom to walk home together. 

Ritsu makes Hokuto carry him on his back, and Hokuto says he realizes Mao is a very very strong person.

 

 

Even though people know of their relationship now, Ritsu still finds himself slipping notes to Hokuto rather than speaking everything. Hokuto mentioned before that he enjoyed it, like a small tradition between the two of them.

“It’s easier to tell you how I feel that way.” He’d said.

Ritsu wants to keep it going, so the notes don’t stop. Neither does them spending time together in the empty theatre clubroom. 

Ritsu doesn’t stop trying to pull kisses from Hokuto whenever possible, either.

Like this, when he’s standing backstage with Hokuto before Trickstar’s live. It’s reminiscent of that time a couple months ago, when Ritsu had to stop himself from reaching out and holding Hokuto’s hand in his.

This time, Ritsu takes his hand.

He presses kisses all over Hokuto’s face just to see him embarrassed. He laughs at the pout on his boyfriends face, and kisses that, too.

Behind them, he hears a voice yell. “HOKKE STOP BEING GAY WE HAVE TO PERFO—NMMN” 

When he looks, Yuu-kun is holding his hand over Subaru’s mouth while the other struggles in his grasp. Ritsu sticks his tongue out at Subaru. Mao rubs the bridge of his nose and sighs.

Ritsu kisses Hokuto once more, and pulls away with a smile. “Do your best, I’ll be watching~” 

Hokuto smiles back. “Of course.”


End file.
